Creepy and cute...
The Gashlycrumb Tinies was written by Edward Gorey in 1963. It tells the story of twenty six children (each representing a letter of the alphabet) and their fatal misaventures. The poem is written in rhyming couplets, such as "A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears." The structure of the poem is quite simple, reminiscent of children’s stories and nursery rhymes. It has no distinct stanzas and the structure of the poem remains constant throughout.
Edward Gorey's illustration is best described as Victorian crosshatch in style. Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was a prolific American illustrator and author. As an illustrator, Gorey developed a quirky, unique and macabre style that was a large influence on the work of artists like Tim Burton.
After publishing his first work, 1953's Unstrung Harp, he gained a local following, and his popularity continued to grow. Other independent works include The Doubtful Guest (1957), The Hapless Child (1961), The Gashlycrumb Tinies (1963) and The Gilded Bat (1966). Gorey also illustrated numerous works by other writers, including literary greats H.G. Wells, T.S. Eliot, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll and Virginia Woolf. In 1978, he won a Tony Award for costume design on the Broadway production of Dracula. His work began even more widely known in 1980 with the premiere of the PBS series Mystery!, the intro of which boasted his illustrations. Gorey died on April 15, 2000, in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
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